Andreas Deja
Andreas Deja is a Polish-born animator who joined the animation department of Walt Disney Productions in the 1980s, and soon established himself as a supervising animator on several villains in Disney animated features. He is also known for his work for animating Mickey Mouse in his more recent animated appearances. Early life Deja was born on April 1, 1957 in Gdańsk, Poland, but moved with his family to Dinslaken, Germany, in 1958. He credits seeing Disney's The Jungle Book as an 11-year-old with inspiring him to become an animator. After graduating from Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium (secondary school), he studied graphic design at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany. Career A lifelong fan of Disney animated films, Deja was hired by the studio in 1980 after he had corresponded with Eric Larson, one of Disney's senior Nine Old Men of animation who ran the studio's training department. The first film on which he worked was The Black Cauldron, during which time he shared a cubicle with future film director Tim Burton. During his rookie days at Disney, Deja sought mentorship and practical advice from seven of the then-living Nine Old Men, who were already retired before his tenure. Deja has collected information on the Nine Old Men over the years, and has stated that one of his ambitions is to publish one book for each of the Nine Old Men. Deja is best known as the supervising animator of some of the most memorable Disney villains: Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Jafar in Aladdin and Scar from The Lion King. He also animated Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, King Triton from The Little Mermaid, the titular character from Hercules, Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, Queen Narissa from Enchanted, Mama Odie in The Princess and the Frog, and Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. In addition, he is the current resident specialist for the animation of Mickey Mouse. In 2006, at the 35th Annie Awards, Deja was awarded the Winsor McCay Award for outstanding contribution to the art of animation. Recently, he began a blog where he shares some of his collection of the work of the early Disney animators. In 2015, he was named a Disney Legend at the D23 Expo. In 2017, The Walt Disney Family Museum hosted the one-man exhibition: Deja View: The Art of Andreas Deja. https://waltdisney.org/exhibitions/deja-view-art-andreas-deja Personal life Deja is openly gay. His sexuality has been discussed as an influence on the development of some Disney characters. Disney Filmography Credits Gallery File:Walt-Disney-Animators-Andreas-Deja-walt-disney-characters-22959893-651-773.jpg File:Walt-Disney-Animators-Andreas-Deja-walt-disney-characters-22959915-650-725.jpg File:30317372.jpg Taran.png|'Taran' 2nrou90.jpg|'Eilonwy' Black-cauldron-disneyscreencaps.com-4859.jpg|'Gurgi' File:Blackcauldron062.jpg|'Dallben' File:Black-cauldron-disneyscreencaps.com-7876.jpg|'Horned King' File:Blackcauldron361.jpg|'Fair Folk' File:Basil_screencaps190.jpg|'Queen Mousetoria' File:Roger_Rabbit.png|'Roger Rabbit' File:Mermaid-1080p-disneyscreencaps.com-3884.jpg|'King Triton' File:1990-prince-02.jpg|'Mickey Mouse & The Prince' File:Beauty-and-the-beast-disneyscreencaps.com-541.jpg|'Gaston' File:Aladdin-disneyscreencaps com-1535.jpeg|'Jafar' File:Lion-king-disneyscreencaps.com-3408.jpg|'Scar' File:Tumblr lxgn7cZdDb1qhcrb0o1 1280.jpg|'Mickey Mouse' File:Runaway Brain screenshoot 28.jpg|'Julius' in Mickey's body File:Hercules-disneyscreencaps com-4129.jpg|'Adult Hercules' File:Mickey-Levine.jpg|'Mickey Mouse' Fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-7004.jpg|'Donald Duck' File:lilo-stitch-disneyscreencaps.com-2192.png|'Lilo' File:Home-on-the-range-disneyscreencaps.com-3309.jpg|'Slim' File:normal_DisneyEnchantedPDVD_370.jpg|'Junior' File:How to hook up your home theater2.jpg.jpg|'Goofy' File:Princessandthefrog 0924.jpg|'Mama Odie' and Juju File:Tigger is telling the narrator he's the only one.jpg|'Tigger' Prince John Disney.jpg|Prince John External links *Deja View, Andreas Deja's blog Refences es:Andreas Deja nl:Andreas Deja pl:Andreas Deja pt-br:Andreas Deja Category:Animators Category:1950s births Category:People Category:The Black Cauldron Category:The Great Mouse Detective Category:Who Framed Roger Rabbit Category:The Little Mermaid Category:The Princess and the Frog Category:Beauty and the Beast Category:Aladdin Category:The Lion King Category:Hercules Category:Fantasia Category:Lilo & Stitch Category:Home on the Range Category:Brother Bear Category:Epic Mickey Category:Winnie the Pooh Category:Males Category:Disney Renaissance Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios Category:Annie Award Winner Category:Annie Award Nominated Category:Disney Revival Category:Alice in Wonderland Category:Peter Pan Category:Robin Hood Category:Disney Legends Category:Disney Dark Age Category:Disney Post-Renaissance Category:Storyboard artists Category:Polish people